Austin Jenkins

Thirteen Washington prison inmates who opted to be deported, instead of serving out their sentences, have been re-arrested back in the United States. All but one returned from Mexico. The inmates were part of an early deportation program begun last year to reduce prison costs.

The ACLU of Washington says at-large city council elections in the city of Yakima dilute the Latino vote and violate the federal Voting Rights Act. The ACLU filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city.

Independent Super PACS are playing a big role in the presidential election. At the state level, Washington campaign regulators also predict a deluge of spending by third-party interest groups.

"Irretrievably damaged." That's how Washington Republican candidate for governor Rob McKenna describes U.S. Senate candidate and current Congressman Todd Akin. The Missouri Republican is engulfed in a firestorm of criticism after comments he made over the weekend regarding pregnancies resulting from rape.

SALEM, Ore. – In Salem, a former Army staff sergeant named Jarrid Starks has run out of the medications that keep him stable. He has severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental and physical wounds of war. But he’s currently not eligible for veterans’ health benefits that would include prescription refills. That’s because Starks was kicked out of the Army for bad behavior. He’s far from alone. Correspondent Austin Jenkins has this story in collaboration with the Seattle Times.

JPMorgan Chase will no longer charge Washington welfare clients $.85 to withdraw cash at an ATM. That fee is abolished in a renegotiated contract the state has signed with the New York-based bank to continue providing cash benefits electronically.

A Washington cash assistance client named Therese McLeod first brought the ATM fee to our attention in May of last year. She was outraged that JPMorgan didn’t disclose the fee at the ATM.

“Sounds like a racket to me. Don’t we have laws against that?” McLeod asked.

Washington Republican candidate for governor Rob McKenna proposes to increase funding for public schools by capping all non-education state spending. That’s just one piece of an education funding plan he unveiled Tuesday.

The U.S. Army is revising the way it diagnoses soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. In the Northwest, it means the Army will no longer use a special psychiatric unit at Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma.

It happens more than 200,000 times a year in doctor’s offices throughout Washington. An interpreter is called in to help bridge a language barrier between the physician and patient. Soon though, that interpreter may join the appointment by phone or even video. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains.

Get a traffic ticket, get a letter of reprimand from the Department of Licensing. That’s how it works in Washington if you are a driver between the ages of 16 and 21. The letter-writing campaign is designed to reduce crashes among younger drivers. But some parents don’t appreciate it.